OBITUARY

On 12th January 2007 the death was announced of Mary Stanley Morris (nee Neverson) in New York, USA. She died just one month before she would have reached her 90th birthday on April 6.

Mary, familiarly called “Nav”, was born on April 06, 1917, to Sarah and Stanley Neverson in Kingstown, St.Vincent. She was the last of seven children, but would become by any standard, the most impactful. In a society that frowned on girls riding bicycles, it was Mary who was the first among her sisters and girl friends, to master the skill. Together with her girlhood best friend, the late Sydney Morris, she also learned and became quite skilled at playing Netball.

When she decided that she needed to explore new vistas, she elected to join her older sister, Venus, and migrate to New York in the early nineteen forties. She trained under Venus to become a hair dresser, and together they enjoyed an increasing success in the profession. Venus Beauty Salon was to become not only a successful business in its own right, but was also to be identified as a location where one would meet newly arrived Vincentians, and their earlier compatriots, as well. In fact, largely due to her more expansive personality, it was Mary who began to cultivate an increasing patronage from the native born Black or, in those days, “Colored” American women in the neighborhood.{{more}}

As the business grew, so too did the reputation of 366 Thompkins Avenue, which in the 1960’s and 70’s became an address that would attract several young Vincentians who had made their way to New York, but for a variety of reasons did not have a place to stay. Without fanfare, Mary made it possible for any number of these young men to live in the apartments above the Beauty Parlor, until they were able to get on their feet.

Mary was the quintessential Vincentian. No sooner had she become acclimated to her new environment than she began to venture beyond the limits that were imposed, or self-imposed upon the new Caribbean immigrants in New York. She started by organizing bus outings to the various regional Parks in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas. From there she branched out into boat rides up the Hudson River. It soon became clear to Mary that there was an unfulfilled need among her fellow immigrants and native born to experience the world beyond their new, immediate neighborhoods, and so she organized these affairs not only with the objective of having fun, but also raising funds to begin to benefit her beloved St. Vincent. As her fund raising efforts became more and more successful, Mary decided to create an official organization to use as an identifiable instrument through which to distribute the proceed of her fundraising efforts. The St. Vincent Benefit and Education Club (B&E), was thus born in Brooklyn, and would later be mirrored by a similar organization in St. Vincent, by among other persons, Velma Jackson, Sydney Morris, Kip Mason. Among the early beneficiaries of her fund-raising was the creation of a Scholarship, specifically targeted to financially needy youngsters. A number of today’s prominent Vincentians can point to this academic assistance as helpful in their early success. Another of the objects of B&E’s financial assistance was the Boys’ Home at Lodge Village. She had been asked by the Director to assist with the provision of musical instruments for the boys to be taught to play. I myself delivered the instruments to much fanfare, sometime in the mid sixties. Much to my disappointment those instruments were nowhere to be seen a few months later.

Sometime in the mid-sixties she invited a few friends and family members to join her in forming a Club whose purpose would be to more effectively bring the interest and growing discretionary incomes of the emergent immigrant Vincentian community to bear on wider projects on St. Vincent. From this initiative came the creation of the St. Vincent Benefit and Education Club with an affiliate organization in St.Vincent.

Together with her friends in St. Vincent, Mary also incorporated her efforts by forming a local St. Vincent Benefit and Education Club. That Club would become the mechanism to enable funds to be raised and banked for the purpose of ultimately building a home for disadvantaged and homeless girls. That objective would elude her efforts, but she has been able through the help of local allies such as Velma Jackson, Kip Mason , the late Sidney Morris and others to help in the areas of education, and charitable services, and now the residual funds have been designated towards supporting another organization’s building plan for girls.

Whether it was the organization of the first “Nine Mornings” celebrations replete with gaily decorated bicycles, appropriate traditional food items, or an appearance at her invitation of the Bamboo Melodians, Mary exhibited a fertile imagination as well as admirable organizational skills and determination, in her efforts either to promote St. Vincent or to fund raise for her cherished causes. It was Mary who initiated the invitation of the winners of the local Carnival Queen Competition to come to New York to be exposed to the New York press as well as to be recognized by their New York based Vincentian community, Norlan Baynes being one of the first to be so honored. It was through her efforts that brought the Latinaires Orchestra led by Kerwyn Morris to perform at fund raising dances for the expatriate Vincentian community hungry for the opportunity to enjoy their home grown talent.

When one thinks of the kind of activities that the expatriate community now takes for granted, many of those were first done by visionaries such as Mary Stanley Neverson-Morris.

The Neverson family of Mary’s generation is now represented solely by her sister Mildred Baynes, in addition she leaves to mourn her loss a number of nieces and nephews, including Morris Neverson, Elliott Cambridge, Yvonne Cambridge-Paynter, Annette Cambridge-Snagg, Claudia Cambridge-Innis, Marcelle Browne-Thomas, Basil and Stanley Browne, Jim Neverson-La Rose, Douglas, Dick and Venus Neverson, her adopted daughter and adopted son Cecelia and Burnett, and many friends.

Mary’s remains are to be buried in Brooklyn, where she will rest next to her previously departed husband Henry Morris. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

She will be sorely missed by many.

May Her Soul Rest in Peace.